Hujeta/needlenose Gars

[Oddball]

hey guys, well im faced with a problem, ive fallen in love with garfish and im looking for anybody who can give me some advice on what sort of tank, tank mates, decor and feeding these guys need. As u can guess ive tracked down a lfs who stocks hujetas and needlenoses for the £6.95 per fish at about 4" long i know they will grow big but can they be kept with different types of gar, with theiur own kind or just on their own?

 

[Clare]

First of all, these are great fish, we have loads of different types!

Hujeta, grow to around 10". Regardless of what is read, we have a friend who has been in the trade for 35 years and has neber known of any bigger than that.

We have 3 Hujetas, all around 10". They are very skittish, and are spooked easily so are better in groups with their own kind. Water changes must be done carefully to prevent them swimming into the sides of the tank and harming themselves.

They eat whitebait but take a while to get feeding. Younger ones should take chopped cockle mussel and prawn, and bloodworms. Our 3 are in a 400 litre tank, they mainly stay over one side, together, at the surface.

As for the needlenose, we don`t keep them but they are very similar.

We also keep Florida and spotted Gars but they grow bigger. We have 4 small ones growing on with 3 small Hujeta and the spotted Gars troubled the fins at first but then have been okay since.

The Hujeta will join the other 3 soon, then the sotted Gars will join the other spotted Gars, they reach 18" so they could not stay together for long.
The spotted Gars have rows of teeth which can inflict damage but the Hujeta have a different type of mouth and are much more peaceful showing no aggresion to eachother or anyone else in the tank.

They can be kept with Plecos, Polypterus ( as long as they are of equivalent size ), beware of Weeksii though!!
Also non agressive cats which grow 8 - 10 inch. We have Sun Catfish with ours.
The only thing they don`t seem to like are free swimming surface fish, they prefer slower moving bottom dwellers which won`t spook them.

In my opinion, Gars are a great choice and these kind will NOT grow huge. Anything else you need to know, ask on forum or PM me.
Clare

 

[evaDsIcixelsiD]

Well I used to have 3 Needle nose gars in a tank with a firemouth and a copora nicaraguense cichlid and they did just fine. The needlenose gars grew to be about 10 inches long each and i fed them live feeder fish only. 1 a day was fine to keep them nice and healthy looking. I see gars in the pet stores now sometimes and there always all scragly looking and underfed. I sold mine to my local lfs about a month ago and they sold for 24 bucks each Not to bad. There are amazing fish and just a blast to keep and especially to feed.

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

I agree pretty well with what has been said, though I have to comment that spotted gars can grow to four and a half feet, and commonly grow to three feet.


EDIT: Oh, I also forgot to mention that hujeta and needlenose gars are not true gars, but needlefish.

 

[CFC]

Hujeta species are Characins (closely related to tetras), needle nose gars are Belonids which are in the same family as the marine garfishes and the true gars such as spotted and Florida gars or from the Lepisosteidae family. None of the families are even closely related and are only alike in appearance.

 

[Oddball]

Thank you very much clare, i would appreciate a more in depth chat later but dont have the time to write out a full response, thanx ill get in touch soon